Turning on the Porchlight Volume 626 !!

Well, here I am turning on the new Porch light ! Hope no one got stuck in the door. Made some frozen hot choc chip cookies for all. Stop and stay awhile. Hope more Porch Pals will come to visit tomorrow after the weekend. I will probably be in and out trying to get ready for our trip to Joplin on Thursday Won't be gone to long though but it is such a long drive !!! Wish we could stay longer !

Also hope to get a script from the doc tomorrow for the poison ivy or whatever it is on my arm and trying to take it over. Driving me crazy !

Everyone, don't forget to check out the old volume 625 for Julie, Rock , Windy I think and Spring.

See you later as I have to go start fixing dinner- ugh !!

Elaine - hope you are feeling a little better and gaining some strength after your surgery So sorry that so many of your symptoms have returned..

Hi Kids
Thanks for getting us started. I hope the doc can figure out the right stuff for your arm. Your
trip is about 750 miles according to the net. Who does the driving? Ha ha! When you and I were
young people drove; they didn't fly. When folks reported on their vacation the wife would be
talking about the relatives, and the hubby would be reporting on their daily mileage.

You guys see the news yesterday about Kevin Costner putting his land in S. Dakota up for sale.
It's near Deadwood. The city where Wild Bill Hickok was shot in 1876, the year our country was
a century old.

Anyhoo, in reading about Deadwood, I discovered another relative. Albert W. Merrick and a
fellow named W. A. Laughlin started the first newspaper in Deadwood during the gold rush.
(Note that both men have the same initials. LOL) Merrick had been a newspaper man in
other frontier towns like Denver.

The paper he started is still in business although it moved to another town with the colorful name
of Spearfish. Merrick was recorded in the census of 1890. No further info known.

Woke up from my nap. Found Gordon is in a cleaning mode. I think it would be better if he
watered his orchids which are dying, but it's his decision. I haven't been able to water for the past
several weeks. I am becoming uselesser and uselesser. Shucks!

Rock. Interesting about Kevin selling his land. Was it just land or a house too? You know these actors have properties all over the place. I read recently that Tom Hanks was selling his house. However, this is only l of 4 he owns around the beach and so. calif.

Is Gordon's orchids outside or indoors? I've lost so many of the phalanopsis ones but this time around, so far so good. Maybe I better not say it tooooo loud though. I've got one that's got a 7" root that's growing straight out. Have to be mighty careful maneuvering that around the sink when I water and I'm finding it's annoying. Wish I knew how to make it curl around the way the commercial growers do.

I just got back from Sprouts to buy some chia seeds. I read today that they are amazingly full of vitamins and are supposed to help with low blood sugar problems. I guess I'm just supposed to eat them on a salad or something like that. A new experience for me. Isn't this the seeds that come with those "chia pets" at Christmas time?

Hi Kids
Am having soup du jour for brunch. It's Gordon's meatball soup. Comes in two size. The light
version is small meatballs plus spinach in chicken broth. I'm having the hardy model: lots of
veggies added.

Also on the culinary front, we made dim sum yesterday. Of course Gordon did 90% of the work.
We made Chinese dumplings. Instead of using won ton skins, Gordon made a dough using
wheat starch. From this I rolled small balls which he flattened in a tortilla press, then filled with
a pork cilantro mixture and crimped the edges. After being steamed, the wheat starch shell
was translucent. Looked and probably tasted like a jellyfish. Personally, no likee. But the
regular dim sum we make are delicious.

BTW, I had some of the same soup in the middle of the night. I guess that would be the
soup du noir.

SG, Yes, the culinary chia seeds are the same as the chia pet seeds. Wikipedia has a short, informative
article on same. Very nutritious; similar to sesame and flax seeds. The Aztecs cultivated
them.

Kevin Costner has 1000 acres in SD to sell. Wants $14,ooo,000. And he has other pieces of
land for which he wants more millions. In South Dakota? I think he's cuckoo cocoa puffs!

Gordon's former boss's DH who is a plumber was here yesterday. (That sentence make any
sense.) Anyhoo he installed a new kitchen sink and counter top. Looks like granite, but
isn't. He's coming back today to modify the shower fixture. Noel Coward said modern
plumbing was the greatest invention of the 20th century. The National Plumbing Association
gave him an award.

Granni, have you been to the doctor yet? Hope he can prescribe some magical ointment
for you. You can't pack effectively if you have to stop and scratch. BTW, you guys remember
this old riddle. A doctor in Chicago has a brother in Houston who is a lawyer. But the
lawyer in Houston does not have a brother in Chicago. Explain.

Time ta go
Rock
Oh yeah, the answer is, the doctor in Chicago in a woman. This riddle was more effective,
of course, when I was young and women doctors were a rara avis.

Luckily I only had to e-mail my doctor and not have to go in to see him. I have had it before so he prescribed the pack of Prednisone where you take the full dose for a few days and then have to decrease gradually till all gone. It is looking rather ugly now and draining. Not a good thing . Yes, and I have to get packing.

I will be out and about tomorrow morning so need to get home and do some serious packing. Just getting my drugs and supps together is a major undertaking. Glad you got a new kitchen sink and counter top. We got that too last year and it looks so much nicer. Now I need to get new hardware for all the cabinets. That should cost a fortune.

Part 1 - We may not be going on our trip due to a leak in the ceiling and wouldn't you know it, it has been raining off and on and is supposed to continue this week. A man is coming over this morning to check one of the things . If it is not that is may be the roof. Then need to get someone to fix it and then when that is supposedly fixed we have to hang around to see if it is fixed and not leaking all over my dresser and bedroom. He just came a found a few lead jacks that need to be fixed and a leaky vent. He didn't bring his BIG ladder with him so will be back tomorrow.

Not a huge job but we probably will not go as DH will want to make sure there is no more leaking. last time it happened (leaky ceiling) we had to make a hole in the ceiling for t he water to drain out. Then we had to sheetrock part of the ceiling and paint. This shouldn't be as bad though and certainly not as expensive. Last time it was the leaky seal in the upstairs toilet that ran downstairs into the 1/2 bath ceiling.- ugh this not so bad but we can't be gone in case of major problem. This is about the 2nd or 3rd time we though we would be there. They are going to give up on us !! and us too on ourselves getting there. This time it is a leaky vent and lead jack.. Those squirrels eat ANYTHING - even lead. The vent is the main problem though.

Part 11 - got Prednisone for the rash and looks better already and not draining like it was.

Julie - Your father in law is not being taken care of. I think she doesn't care just for herself. Just what you need , more worries. Your FIL had to fend for himself it sounds like. Very sad.

Gotta run for now. Will be gone this morning in awhile and dh will be back soon so have to get off for now.

Julie - I think the squirrel thing was not the problem but the guy will have to replace them or replace one and fix one. The main leaky part I think had to do went a vent where the water I guess was collecting if the wind and rain was blowing a certain way. I was trying to remember everything he was saying. DH wasn't here to get all that stuff. It is not a new roof, I think thank God even though he didn't have the ladder and supplies to check up there. There is enough to do around here and it seems to keep multiplying. We need Den to come and help us !!! Hope you got Keira back home and all and hope AMY is coming along . I know how bad that is . So sorry she needs to WORK !!! She needs to REST !!! Somehow they usually do not get together.

Hi also to SW and Rock, Sun and awl ! Not much time now and need to get off here.

Granni - I hv to agree with God intervening when a trip gets cancelled
due to whatever..its not always the case, but it could be

anyhoo hope the leaky roof gets fixed; what a relief the Predisnone
is working

Julie - Keira is very attached to Nana. Lucky lil girl to hv nana and
of course Grandpa; Den too seems like a treasure in and out of the
house;

Thats just sad about Dens father not being taken care of even where
proper meals are taken care of, but then seems like some of it is his
own fault..he doesnt want to leave, he invited her into his home,
so....whats to do? Looks like you are doing what you can do in the
circumstances..he is lucky Den and you are nearby, otherwise..

Rock - there are days when i look around and find i havent made any
headway in the cleaning and tidying and feel like you did, uselesser
and uselesser nd perplexed at my uselessness...but then if we didnt
bring something to the table..Im sure Gordon and my DH would hv
not wanted us around. Maybe we have a feel good factor about ourselves?
brighten up our surroundings when we step into a room?
Hahahahahahahaha

The freak responsible for messing up my posts is desperately trying to
do its 'i have no life' duty again, but lol! my post is safe.

The other day i took my friend out for lunch so she wouldnt spend
the day moping over her friends departure for the US.

He has gone to tie up a few ends and try and make his wife who'is settled
there come back here so they can take care of his old ailng parents and relieve
them of the burden of running the business.

I took her to this lovely lil place behind monastery where we just talked
and then we went to monastery too and did a few rounds of the stupa.
dunno bout her, i felt very good. amazing atmosphere. and the weather
was heaven with a cool gentle breeze and no sun just salmon clouds
in moist sweet air.

Julie -Yes, we aren't going on the trip. The guys came and supposedly fixed it and it has been raining some so we will test out what has been done. Hope that is all that needs to be done, for the leak anyway. Nothing like more bills coming in. You definatly have a list of problems and things to do with all the kids and grandkids. I don't know how you do it and all the miles you drive is amazing for me. DH would be complaining about the mileage with gas going up again.

SW - Hi there, I don't know how you deal with your power shortages. Hope we don't have to worry about that soon. Water is bad enough. Need to go to the store with DH. Yes, that drives me crazy when you lose a long newsy post - not good at all ):!!!

Julie - you just amaze me with all you do for everyone. Of course age is helpful !! It is all I can do to get myself in running state to get anything done. Did two loads of wash today but need to get one out of the drier and folded and put away.

Spring Water - How nice of you to take time to help out your friend who will be missing her friend going back to the states . Glad you had a nice peaceful afternoon with her. It is sad when our parents get older and do what they used to do. Now it is my generation and hope our kids will be there for us when stuff starts happening that we don't like. DH's dad had dementia or Alzheimer and he lived with us. It was very sad to see him decline.

Julie - (PS) That is so sad about Den's sister and her apparent spoiled nature. She doesn't make any sense to me. Just everything evolves around her and he is not to get in the way, even though he took her into his house. She is definatley abusing herself and her father along the way. He could tell her to leave and then where would she be. However, it doesn't sound like he will do that. Then you would have to step in Julie and that is very hard too. I do have a suggestion though. When stuff comes up, incidences that are not good and could prove harmful to Grandpa, you might want to take note of it and make a journal of sorts in case things get out of hand over there. Of course then she could lie and say none of that happened but Grandpa would have to concur with you and agree to all he was saying. Not sure he would do that or stick up for her or not.

Thinking of everyone. Not much going to happen this weekend. Put away the suitcases and scattered everywhere. Still have my poison whatever it is but drying up some, not as ultra weepy. I must be allergic to this stuff like crazy. It all started with a tiny pustule looking like a bug bite at first. We may go out to dinner since we saved a bunch of money not going on the trip. Seems like every time we decide to go something happens, not even short of a tornado that hit Joplin a few years ago. Our eldest daughter's father in law is having a surprise party in the big city on Sat. Of course we thought we were going to be gone .

However, between throwing us into the tizzy not feeling the best , wait and watching for our potentially leaky ceiling we are not going. DH has gotten so he hates to drive into the city with the traffic. I don't blame him really cause I wouldn't do it myself but it didn't used to bother him that much. Age I guess. However I know our eldest daughter , the busy busy person she is not sure how much she likes it when we turn down invitations of this sort. I wish we could be there and it wasn't so far away. Just an hour 1/2 or more on a busy freeway can drive one crazy and the traffic is sometimes not good and very taxing. Neither of us had much patience or nerves any more for driving these kinds of roads. I definatley can't with my hi b/p and pain. When they start school again there will be ball games and shows to go to and then the complaining starts about the driving. I would love be at everything but can't hire a chauffeur !!

So sorry JULIE for you having to go through all this with Grandpa and his daughter. Yes, I think it does help to write things out and keep things in your mind. Glad you are taking notes in case. How old is Den's sis, older or younger than Den? Was she the baby or just spoiled !! When people get older like Grandpa, esp men they do not think that much about food and fixing it. esp if they have been having food fixed for them most of the time. That is like my DH. Ilove him dearly and say he can fix his own food but does he, not often if I am not here. Then it is something pretty simple. He can do things on the grill mostly hot dogs, hamburger, stir fry in the grill wok, steak. However, that is not often. He was an only child and never really had to cook for himself. His mom was a great cook before she passed at age 51 or so of ovarian cancer -another sad chapter. Then Grandpa came ad lived with us and made all our moves with us too. Was a big help driving and such helping with the picking up kids driving them to school if needed, food shopping etc. He deid at almost 86 years and it was to take away his car as he slipped into alz./dementia.

Whoops gotta run. DH needs the computer and I have to get ready to get out of here.,

Good idea not to show Lorrain especially where those babies are. I am sure she would love to try and hold one or squeeze them to hard. Hard to tell a little one like Lorraine not to touch them YET!! Also don't want to upset Mama by touching them while so young either. Glad you are getting in a nap. You must really need one sweetie. Nothing like so many people to help to take care of.

Glad you got your hair done yesterday. It always helps me to feel better. I went yesterday and actually broke down and got a manicure and pedicure. Both were terrible since I rarely go but my toenails were so bad and breaking off . Hard for me to get down and do anything for them except a snip or two when they get to bad on the toes. We'll see how long my fingernails will last. This is polish that is supposed to last longer, so we will see. That is fine for people who have help and don't have to do all the dishes, etc. even with a dishwasher. I don't turn on my dishwasher every day with just the two of us. My kids use theirs all the time, even with just one kid . I rarely put my pots and pans in and do them by hand. They take up so much space for one thing and I think it helps them to last longer. We also are starting to have some water shortages and trying to conserve. Young ones don't even think that much about conserving.

Hope everyone is doing well. No rain today to see how our fix is doing in our bedroom. We did have some yesterday early in the day after the guy left. I feel badly about missing our trip but it really would have been a bad time and a big rush. DH has an irritation on his butt that he is putting on special meds with steroids in it to apply 2x a day. The sitting and driving so long would not have been good. I also still have my poison ivy or whatever it is but the Prednisone is really helping a lot. It was draining badly before the meds and it all started out with one lesion - good grief !! Hope we can find another time to go, maybe fall but all of a sudden up there they get cold and SNOW and DH will not drive n snow or ice any more. He used to in NY but that was so many years ago.

julie - that was some cleaning out you had to do, in dens dads fridge..he
must hv some kind of soft corner for her, protecting her even tho she
didnt even live there before, maybe she was always his little girl...

granni - its wise of your dh not to drive in sleet n snow..why take risks
if it isnt absolutely necessary...is there some way to avoid getting stung
by poison ivy again..maybe clearing out all vegetation which could
camouflage it..im not familiar with that plant in these parts so i dont
know

sunflower - i dont know what are chia seeds, i need to take almonds
myself, my memory is beginning to be a problem...i need to take something

rock - i wish my partner would go into cleaning mode, then mayyybe
we wud hv a tidier house...right now i have a spare room full of
laundry needing organising and a store room needing to be decluttered.
i did throw out a pile of magazines and some useless cds the other day
and hv made up my mind to keep throwing out something old everyday
now until i really dont hv useless stuff lying around 'just in case i need it
one day'.

our friend who left for states called me yesterday from america and
the line was so bad, i spent a few minutes just asking who it was...

i saw his number on my mobile and just pressed it thinking maybe
it was one of my sons friends since he too uses my mobile..

convo went something like this...

friend - hello

me:hello

(pause)

silence...each waiting for other to say something... then..

me: err.. who is this?

friend : R.......

me: R...? (still thinking its an R....who mite be sons friend, and
not registering it could be our friend calling from america)

R.........:yes.

silence

me: (uncertainly) errr..which R........?

R...........: the R you met in Main Road the other day remember? (he was joking)

(silence as i try to think who i met in main road the other day)

then

me: what is your full name?

friend tells his full name R.......S.......

me light beginning to dawn but still not sure:

is itR..S... that is Ps friend?

R: and how many R S's does madam know?

me: !!! you are R calling from America?

R: yessssssssssssssss (exasperated)

and then i burst out laughing......i think i was tired too,i had been
feeding my three brothers who i called over for lunch and i also
had to out with dh to a dinner in evening so i must hv been more
wooly headed than usual

anyway i called his friend afterwards and we howled with laughter
as i told her......she has cheered up a great deal since they skyped
earlier and she doesnt feel so empty...they are telling me to get
skype but im not sure....as it is im always behind with my chores

after feeding brothers lunch(,i made mushroom dumplings, potato
curry dry, sweet corn veg soup...and chicken curry) i rested awhile
and then dh came and collected me and we went off to this dinner
at a restaurant where his friend had called 10 others....i was feeling
rather dizzy but managed to have an all right time...